Ito Smith and Korey Robertson were the marquee names at Southern Miss’ annual pro day Thursday.

There were several other former Golden Eagles that helped themselves, though, including safety Tarvarius Moore and tight end Julian Allen.

Keeping track of participants’ times, numbers and measurements can be a difficult undertaking under the circumstances. But one NFL scout shared their stats with the Hattiesburg American.

Smith was measured at 5-foot-8 ½, 205 pounds. The school’s second all-time leading rusher was clocked by the scout at 4.50 and 4.53 in the 40-yard dash despite intermittent rain showers that every NFL hopeful had to negotiate. According to the numbers released by the school, Smith ran a 4.49.

Prior to pro day, Smith said he hoped to shave off a few hundredths of a second. He did.

“I had a solid day,” Smith said. “I could’ve done better in everything, I feel. But it was about what I expected.”

Smith, who also put up 22 benchpress repetitions of 225 pounds (second-most of the first-year draft-eligible Golden Eagles), recently spent several hours meeting with a New England Patriots player personnel representative in Mobile.

“He worked me out first, then we watched film for about 45 minutes,” Smith said. “I’ve got five more visits set up with the (Dallas) Cowboys, (Tennessee) Titans, (Los Angeles) Rams, (Seattle) Seahawks and (Indianapolis) Colts.”

Former Southern Miss running back Ito Smith reacted to his performance at the school's pro day on Thursday.
Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

Robertson, who ran a 4.56 at the NFL Combine earlier this month, said he does not have any visits currently scheduled. But he said he met with the New Orleans Saints and Patriots prior to pro day.

Moore stole the show in the 40-yard dash, clocking a 4.35 on his first attempt and a 4.32 the second go-round. The 6-1, 199-pounder also finished the day with the best vertical, at 39 ½ inches, and the top broad jump, at 11-feet, 1-inch.

“I feel like I did pretty good. Put up some pretty good numbers,” he said. “A lot of scouts told me they like what they see. I have a lot of meetings scheduled these next two weeks. Cleveland (Browns), Miami (Dolphins), Houston (Texans), Indianapolis — a lot of places all over. I’m just enjoying the whole process. Just want to go in and impress them in the meeting, show them my football knowledge and hopefully make a team.”

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Former Southern Miss safety Tarvarius Moore told the Hattiesburg American Thursday that multiple NFL scouts gave him positive feedback.
Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

Allen had the best day of all the prospects on the benchpress, finishing with 26 reps. He measured 6-2 ½ and 242 pounds, and put up a 4.63 time in the 40.

“I felt I had a good today,” Allen said. “I’ve been averaging 22, 23 (benchpress), so I showed up with an extra few reps today. I guess that’s some adrenaline with all these people around. I feel like I helped myself today. I got positive feedback from some of the scouts — the Raiders, the Cowboys — but we’ll wait and see.”

A pair of cornerbacks and former Bassfield stars Cornell Armstrong and Curtis Mikell put their speed on display Thursday. Armstrong’s best, according to this scout’s evaluation, was 4.43. Mikell ran a 4.35 and 4.40, according to Southern Miss' stopwatch. Armstrong and Mikell both had vertical jumps of 38 ½ inches. Another former Bassfield star, Jomez Applewhite, ran a 4.40 and put up a vertical jump of 39 inches (second-best of the group).

Mikell and Moore put up the best times in the 3-cone drill, each clocking 6.95 seconds. Mikell also had the best 60-yard shuttle time at 11.23 seconds. Applewhite’s 11.44 was second-best, while Justin Abston’s 11.45 was third.

Receiver Allenzae Staggers registered a 40 time of 4.53, a 37-inch vertical and a 10-7 broad jump.